


The Cavern of Crystals and The Mirror of Souls

by nikkilittle



Category: American McGee's Alice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 01:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15741630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkilittle/pseuds/nikkilittle
Summary: Excerpt from "The Second Sword."  Alice guides a kidnapped band of U.S. Senators through the Cavern of Crystals where they are given a demonstration of what happens to torturers and supporters of torture, and through the Mirror of Souls which exposes the viewer's true nature.  Alternate Universe: a modern American Alice in a real Wonderland.A complete copy of "The Second Sword" can be found in my "Princess of Thieves" Series.





	1. The Cavern of Crystals

Chapter 23: "The Cavern of Crystals"

 

“Our tour of the Ditches of Malebolge has now concluded. I hope you have enjoyed the sights and please visit our gift shop where many interesting souvenirs are available.” Malacoda was grinning from ear to ear. Ha! Ha! What a kidder. The senators that I could see were looking at each other with a characteristic ‘Is he nuts?’ look on their faces. Malacoda now fixed his smitten gaze on Alice and informed her that the exit was just up ahead and down a hole in the walkway. “I will take you all the way to the Mirror of Souls. Once you have stepped through that mirror, you are on your own again.”

The hole in the walkway was a downward-spiraling staircase that would have been pitch black had Malacoda not held aloft a glowing crystal which he had picked up from a pile just outside the hole. It only took a few minutes, and then we found ourselves in a gigantic flat area with wide stone support pillars everywhere which were spaced very regularly at a distance of about seven feet apart. Every single one of the support pillars was covered with small, glowing crystals that looked like gemstones of every possible hue. “The crystals that you see on the support pillars in this cavern-like area each contain a damned soul who was guilty of torturing other human beings or supporting the torture of human beings in some material way. We also have a few sadists in the form of animal torturers here. In front of Minos, torturing a cat, dog, farm animal, or wild creature is just as much a sin as torturing a human being. The people here are the worst of the worst. They spent their entire lives practicing or supporting this vile degradation of any living creature. Their punishment, like most of the punishments in Hell, is poetic: they spend eternity seeing, hearing, and feeling the tortures that they inflicted or supported through the eyes, ears, and senses of the victims. They see what they did. They hear their own voices. They feel the tortures they inflicted or helped to inflict. In essence, these damned souls become their victims.”

I heard swishes in the dark area lit only by the crystals that reminded me of Minos' tails in that cavern where we encountered him. Malacoda held up a hand and announced “Behold new damned souls from Minos!” Now we could see the tails. Nearly transparent shades were flung before us which in a matter of seconds had wild, swirling colors envelop them. The swirling colors encased each damned soul and then, rotating ever faster, became increasingly smaller until the swirls were the size of the crystals we saw on the support pillars. The miniaturized swirls of colors then smacked against the sides of the support pillars and transformed into new crystals joining the already existing populations of crystals. The swirling colors made no breeze and could not be felt in any way. Everywhere I looked, I saw crystals completely covering every support pillar and often spreading around the top and base of the pillar as well.

“This place should be of special interest to many of your guests, Alice. It seems we have many here who think that torture can be justified in certain circumstances. I have made arrangements with Minos for a small demonstration of the eternity that awaits those who through their lives and actions support the practice of this atrocity. Minos! You may begin!”

Minos' tails now snaked through the spaces in between the senators and began snatching them one-by-one. Some of the senators began to cry, and, I might add, not all of those who wept with fear were women. After a few minutes of suspenseful snaking through our ranks, Minos had seized in his tails every senator in whom he was interested. Now the real demonstration began. The same process that we had seen with new damned souls now occurred with the senators enveloped in Minos' tails. Swirling colors enveloped each in a miniature tornado. At the precise instant that the shrinking swirls of colors became crystals embedded on the ceiling and pillars, we heard yelps of bone-chilling terror. In all, Minos' tails had snatched about half of the senators. I need hardly mention which party to which most of those grabbed belonged. There was one Democrat who had been grabbed; there would have been two if Lieberman had still been with us. Minos let about fifteen seconds pass before he released all of the snatched senators from their crystalline prisons. Each released senator reacted in exactly the same manner: he, or in some cases she, collapsed to the floor on knees shaking like a fish on a riverbank. Eyes wide with terror, none of them could speak. One-by-one they collapsed sideways on the floor and slept from exhaustion. I later discovered that Alice had agreed to this demonstration when she spoke to Malacoda in the Ditch of Usurers. That explained why the temper tantrum from Alice that I was expecting never materialized. Our party spent perhaps six hours waiting while the senators slept. I made several trips back to Wonderland and passed out bottles of water, bars of chocolate, and baskets of fruit and goat cheese. All this time, Malacoda stayed with us. As you might expect, no one was in the mood for chit-chat. Only Alice and Malacoda talked. It seemed they had a lot to share and more than a little in common. They both had the soul of a Robin Hood. 

When finally all of our sleeping beauties woke up, Malacoda announced that the exit to this area lay just ahead in the form of what he called the “Mirror of Souls.” When a living soul stood before this mirror, it would reveal that soul's inner essence. Stepping through the mirror would take the soul to the staircase that ringed the outer circumference of every circle. We would travel down the staircase in the usual manner and step out into the Fifth Circle. Malacoda had a final warning about the mirror. “You must wait until the reflection shows before you can step through the mirror. Only one person can pass through at a time. If you do things out of order, you will walk into a solid sheet of thick glass with the expected result.” Malacoda turned to leave, but Alice stopped him. Standing on tiptoe, Alice put a hand behind Malacoda's neck and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. I heard her whisper something to him, but I was too far away to hear it. Malacoda gave Alice a big smile, bowed slightly, and then disappeared into one of his portals. Whatever else one can say about Alice, she certainly isn't superficial or shallow. Ick! Maybe I am. Later I would discover just why Alice was not put off at the idea of kissing what appeared to be a demon. There was more to Malacoda than I would have ever dreamed.

Alice walked up to the mirror and paused in front of it. I know from later conversation with her that she was expecting to see something like Robin Hood staring back. A surprise awaited her. At first, she mistook the reflection for the White Knight of Pale Realm. Then, however, the knight in the mirror turned and charged with his lance...at a windmill.

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End of Chapter 23

 

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This story is based on the characters created by American McGee. Electronic Arts (EA) holds the copyrights. The original “Inferno” was written, of course, by Dante.


	2. Mirror Image

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice's band of kidnapped U.S. Senators must pass through the "Mirror of Souls" which reveals the true nature of the viewer.

Chapter 24: “Mirror Image”

 

Alice stepped through. At this point, there was hesitation on the part of the senators. Who would be the first to stand before the mirror? After a few moments, Bernie Sanders stepped forth joking that his reflection would “probably be the White Rabbit.” He wasn’t even close. Senator Sanders stepped before the mirror and his jaw dropped as he was reflected back as a woman in the elegant dress of an ancient fable. He stood stock still in front of the mirror, and it was nearly a minute before anyone spoke. “It’s Cassandra of Greek mythology who was cursed to be able to foresee the future and yet have no one ever believe her,” said Hatter. Senator Sanders stepped through, and Senator John Kerry stepped forward, probably expecting to see something complimentary. He saw a doormat. Wordless, he stepped through. Olympia Snowe, a rare Republican moderate from Maine, stepped up next and saw what was perhaps the rarest of all reflections in the mirror. She saw herself, exactly as she stood before it.

Now other Republican senators stepped forward, and most of them saw obese pigs in topcoats with top-hats. Shoulders slumping like scolded schoolchildren, they stepped through. Democrats got their comeuppances, too. More than a few saw a yellow dog in the mirror. Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska saw himself choking to death with his mouth stuffed full of money. Democratic Senator Max Baucus saw a giant asshole siphoning in hundred-dollar bills from the health insurance industry and drug companies. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York was shown jumping up and down on the lid of a jail overstuffed with pot-smoking inmates. The lid popped off and the pot smokers stuffed their joints into his mouth and ears. When they ran out of space for the joints, they pulled his pants and drawers down and proceeded to stuff his backside full. The mirror showed Senator Schumer’s eyeballs rolling around like steel spheres in a pinball machine.

Republican Senator John Sununu stepped forward and saw Elmer Fudd in two-dimensional glory. His expression remained unchanged as he stepped through. He had probably expected worse. Now the senators began pushing the reluctant Norm Coleman forward. He really didn’t want to step in front of that mirror. With good reason: Norm Coleman was reflected back as a little boy pissing in his pants and staring with obvious fascination at the steadily-increasing size of the puddle in front of him. From that day onward he was known by the nickname of “Senator Puddle.” One of the women senators, whom I shall not name, stepped before the mirror and saw a cow. I rather doubt that the reflection had anything to do with her weight. Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia confidently strode up to the mirror and chuckled at what he saw. He was reflected back as another two-dimensional cartoon character: Yosemite Sam. Perhaps it was the feisty nature of the cartoon character which amused him. Senator Jim Webb certainly did have a bit of spit and fire in him. Senator Sherrod Brown stepped forward and saw a naked man trying to roll a boulder up a hill. “Sisyphus,” said Hatter. “Perhaps a comment on the futility of trying to represent the interests of working people in a country beholden to the interests of the moneyed classes.” Hatter knew the background of every currently serving Senator.

The last Senator to approach the mirror was Ted Kennedy. The other senators made no effort to rush him forwards as there was some suspicion that he was ill and didn’t have much longer. Senator Kennedy stepped before the mirror holding his breath, a memory of the ancient past haunting his face. The mirror filled with fog and slowly the figure of a young woman coalesced. The mirror had been silent in all of the previous “readings,” but this time a sound was heard. An ethereal voice, as if it were a thousand miles away, came from the image’s lips. “I forgive you, Ted. It is time to forgive yourself.” Senator Kennedy’s knees buckled under him, and he wept without shame while the young woman’s image in the mirror slowly faded into the fog. In a few moments, he stood up, wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, and stepped through.

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End of Chapter 24

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This story is based on the characters created by American McGee. Electronic Arts (EA) owns the copyrights. The original “Inferno” was written, of course, by Dante.

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